Dear Student,
Welcome to The Law School Playbook! I’m Halle Hara, a professor of academic success and personal skills coach to law students and attorneys. I’m glad you’re here! Perhaps you’ve heard the saying that law school is a marathon and not a sprint. At the heart of that saying is that to navigate law school successfully, you must have resolve, persistence, or staying power. But how do you do that day after day when the work load is so demanding?
I did well in law school not because I had a gift or innate talent (note the fixed mindset in that way of thinking). I did well in law school because I was passionate about it and would not be outworked. My top bar exam score was not because I have a genius level IQ (incidentally, I have no idea what my IQ is), it is because I was dedicated to the cause and worked incredibly hard to pass it. What I didn’t know then, but I do know now, was that there is a label for my approach, and that’s grit.
In 2016, Professor and Psychologist Angela Duckworth wrote a book dedicated to the topic named Grit: The Power and Passion of Perseverance. In this episode, I’ll highlight the findings and message in that New York Times bestseller. Duckworth explains that grit has two components: passion and perseverance. For our purposes, that means that you must have passion for the study of law (or at least for the idea of practicing it, or both). Duckworth explains that passion is crucial because “nobody works doggedly on something they don’t find intrinsically interesting.” So without passion, you’re unlikely to be able to persevere.
This topic of passion brings to mind a couple of types of students. The first type is a student who came to law school for someone other than themselves. More specifically, this student enrolled in law school not because it was a passion of theirs but because a parent, spouse, or employer thought it was a good idea. Stated simply, it is next to impossible to have staying power—grit—if you are attending law school for someone other than yourself. Another type of law student I see thought they had a passion for law but realized law school and the practice of law is not what they thought it would be. If either of those students is you, you are in law school without passion. Given the time and monetary commitment that law school requires, it is at least worth the time to pause, reflect, and think deeply about whether you have the intrinsic motivation to proceed. Ask yourself what you are passionate about and determine if pursuing that passion, rather than law, is within reach.
The perseverance piece centers on deliberate practice focused on improving specific weaknesses or skills deficiencies. Duckworth explains that people can be coached for deliberate practice but can also use science to examine the basic requirements, which include:
having a clearly defined stretch goal
dedicating full concentration and effort
seeking immediate and informative feedback
and engaging in repetition with reflection and refinement
Duckworth’s point mirrors the old adage that law school is a marathon not a sprint because, as she explains, grit is more about stamina than intensity. Because it takes time to be an expert law student or to think like a lawyer, grit is about working diligently over time, embracing the challenge and maintaining the intellectual curiosity to see it through.
At this point you maybe be asking, “How much grit do I have as a law student?” Several factors determine your grit. Beyond passion, consider your tolerance for the daily practice demanded by law school (for example, the reading, the studying, and the assessments). The greater your tolerance for these types of activities, the grittier you are. Go to Angela Duckworth’s website to complete the grit scale, which will give you a grit score based upon your selections. Duckworth’s scale focuses on:
whether new ideas and projects distract you from previous ones
whether setbacks discourage you or you give up easily
whether you often set a goal and then later choose to pursue a different one
whether you are a hard worker
whether you have difficulty maintaining your focus on projects that take more than a few months to complete
whether you finish what you begin
whether your interests change from year to year
whether you are diligent and never give up
whether you have been obsessed with a certain idea or project for a short time but later lost interest and
whether you have overcome setbacks to conquer an important challenge
Duckworth talks about a group of students she calls “fragile perfects,” which she defines as people who know how to succeed but not how to fail because they haven’t met adversity in their lives. To avoid being a fragile perfect depends on your willingness to have a growth mindset and the optimism to believe that you can and will be successful in law school. Like Carol Dweck, Angela Duckworth encourages positive self-talk. She also explains that a cognitive behavioral therapist can help with changing negative internal messages. Just as you can grow your mind, you can grow your grit. In essence, Duckworth explains that our society’s obsession with talent distracts us from the simple truth that “what we accomplish in the marathon of life depends tremendously on our grit—our passion and perseverance for long-term goals.” Building your grit will help you achieve more in law school and have further enjoyment along the way.
If would you like to read this episode, get suggestions for further reading, or to request individual coaching with me, please visit my website at www.lawschoolplaybook.com. As always, do your best, and I’ll be rooting for you!
References and Further Reading
Heather D. Baum, Inward Bound: An Exploration of Character Development in Law School, 39 Univ. of Arkansas at Little Rock L. Rev. 25 (Fall 2016).
Paula Davis-Laack, Grit: A Critical Success Strategy, Wis. Law. 49 (Dec. 2014). https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/WisconsinLawyer/Pages/Article.aspx?Volume=87&Issue=11&ArticleID=23742
Angela Duckworth, Grit: The Power and Passion of Perseverance (2016).
Carol S. Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (2007).
Alli Gerkman & Milana L. Hogan, Accelerating Talent: Grit and Growth Mindset Fuels Lawyers’ Success Throughout Their Careers, 90 N.Y. State B.J. 49 (November/December 2018).
Rhoda Pilmer & Brett Martin, True Grit: The Importance of Passion and Perseverance in Career Prosecutors, 50 Prosecutor 8 (Jan. 2018).
Sarah Rohne, Developing True Grit and a Growth Mindset, 41 No. 4 ABA Law Practice 12 (July/August 2015).
Bjarne P. Tellmann, The Importance of Grit, 35 No. 6 Association of Corporate Counsel Docket 22 (July/August 2017).
Elizabeth Adamo Usman, Making Legal Education Sick: Using Cognitive Science to Foster Long-Term Learning in the Legal Writing Classroom, 29 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 355 (Spring 2016).
Emily Zimmerman & Leah Brogan, Grit and Legal Education, 36 Pace L. Rev. 114 (Fall 2015).